


will you take me home?

by tootiredmotel



Series: Take Me Home [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Father Figure, Iron Dad, Minor Character(s), Multi, Spider-son, references, this just hit me and i had to write it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-04-19 23:22:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14248011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tootiredmotel/pseuds/tootiredmotel
Summary: He screwed up. He knows he did. And Tony probably does too.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [itsjennasaisquoi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsjennasaisquoi/gifts).



> I was listening to take me home by jess glynne and trading theories & head canons with a friend and BAM!  
> \+ I said I'd gift itsjennasaisquoi and I felt like this should be it  
> tbh tho I listened to wishes by gin$eng & nara the whole time writing this  
> I was gonna upload last night, but the wifi at home went out for awhile:/  
> DID Y'ALL SEE THAT CLIP OF HOW PETER CLIMBED OUT OF THE BUS IN IW?? Ned is me when the movie comes out "we're all gonna DIE"

Maybe Mr. Stark didn't notice. Maybe he really didn't hear it and wasn't pretending he didn't. Peter's only slightly grateful that they ignored what he accidentally let slip. Slightly. Because he did feel kinda weird about it. He almost called Mr. Stark dad.

 _"I'm telling you, kid. DUM-E won't obey you and if he does, he's not doing it right."  Peter just rolled his eyes. DUM-E was a good bot. He just needed encouragement. And Peter would gladly give it to him. Especially since he thinks there's a parallel here. He needs encouragement sometimes too, is that so bad? And Mr. Stark's comment on obeying and incorrectly obeying kinda struck a chord. "I saw that." Peter looked up from where he was petting DUM-E to see Tony working on a repulsor that just_ had _to be updated, smirking. "Didja really, Mr. Stark? I was starting to think maybe your vision was going out." He tries to hold back a laugh, letting the smirk sit because according to Mr. Stark, 'only dorks laugh at their own jokes and so do softies that can't insult to save a life. You are both'  "So much sass. Between you and FRIDAY, anyways. I am a paragon of angelic behavior."_

_For awhile after that there was a comfortable silence between them. Tony had started playing music a lot less ever since Peter's really bad sensory day and he couldn't help but feel guilty. Before, Mr. Stark would blast Black Sabbath and rant about how Peter's generation has no taste. Now, though, he rarely ever played music and when he did, it was low. Those were the days that Happy would off-handedly comment that Mr.Stark was in a mood or something. It was only a matter of time before Peer connected the dots. Music was Tony's form of calming down, just like when Peter wears one of Uncle Ben's sweatshirts. So he decided that if Mr. Stark couldn't listen to his music on off days because of him, then he wouldn't wear Ben's sweatshirt. It took a lot of self soothing in the mirror on his part, before he left for school. 'You got this, you got this. Mr. Stark is sacrificing for you, you can sacrifice something at least.'_

Today, however, was not the day he could part with the sweatshirt. It was the anniversary, it'd been a year since Uncle Ben died. Because of him. He almost cancelled on the lab visit, but decided against it. But that didn't mean he was gonna be all 'dorky and soft'. No, he'd be polite and offer a comment here or there with a smile, but he wouldn't act like himself, because he couldn't. Until they started joking about DUM-E and he almost forgot why he was feeling down. Almost.

_"Rough day at school? I only ask because you're being quiet. You're usually chatting it up, even with the bots. What's the deal?" Peter sighed, not wanting to answer. He didn't want to tell Tony about it being the anniversary for a number of reasons. One being that it was an uncomfortable subject. Another being that Mr. Stark is a genius, so he probably did know and just wasn't going to address because it wasn't important. "You could say that."_

It was from that point on that it went downhill.

_"Why's that, huh? Sonic giving you trouble?" It almost earned a laugh out of Peter, but he couldn't bring himself to offer more than a small smile. "It's Flash, and no more than usual." Which, was apparently a bad thing to say because next thing he knew, Mr. Stark swiveled in his seat, facing Peter. "Alright. This is gonna sound a lot like an after school special or one of those Captain America PSAs you sent me," Peter didn't look up, remembering that he sent his mentor a snapchat of the video in detention. The only reason he didn't get in trouble for having his phone out was because Michelle had distracted the coach with yet another drawing of him 'in crisis'. Whether the distraction was intentional or not, Peter was grateful. "but you know that you can always talk to me or May or Happy, hell, even Rhodes. But since you and I both know you probably won't, you can always fight back. Or can you, I mean it's not like you're strong or anything. Oh wait."_

_"Mr. Stark, I can't just fight someone because they said that...I couldn't fight someone then, I shouldn't now." Peter finally looked up. "Interesting. So, since I couldn't save the day before I became Iron Man then I guess I shouldn't now? Hell, since May couldn't effectively defend herself before that class Pepper dragged her off to, she shouldn't defend herself now?" "What, no! I just-" Peter sighed as Tony cut him off again. "Just what, don't want to be labeled as the surprisingly strong kid?"  
_ _"The unusually strong one! I don't want to add onto the list of reasons of..." Peter trailed off again, noticing Mr. Stark's hard stare. "List of apparent reasons of what, Underoos?"  The older man leaned forward, the scene between them reminding Peter of when they met, talked in his bedroom. "Of reasons I'm a freak."  To add surprise into the already tense situation, the billionaire stood up and then grabbed Peter by the arm, dragging him to the couch near the door. "Alright. Sit," he nudged Peter to sit and when he did, the genius continued. "Now tell me what supposedly makes up this list." It took a couple of seconds, but Peter revealed the content, reasons why he was bullied or picked on and teased. "W-we don't have a lot of money, but we do alright. I just-some of the kids at school are, like, rich and whenever enough of us that aren't rich are the reason the class can't go on a trip without not including at least six of us, that's one." Mr. Stark remains stoic. He doesn't wanna hear this, Parker. Wrap it up. "I guess I'm kinda smart, smarter than some of the kids and they don't really like it. A-and the whole thing with Sk-Skip." "What whole thing?"_

_"It's nothing. Really, and he moved a couple years ago."_

Thinking back on it, it could've been a lot worse. Peter could've actually said the word 'dad' and Mr. Stark could've flat out rejected him. But on some level, this was kind of worse. Not knowing where they stood? It was like those couple of months after the airport fight and Peter hadn't heard anything for awhile. At least if Mr. Stark rejected him he wouldn't be avoiding him.

_"Listen, spiderling. If there's more to that story, you and I both know there is, you can talk about it. As for the short list of false reasons, because there are none, all I've got to say is that you're not a freak. In any sense of the word, you are not a freak. Not because you're strong and brave. Not because you're smart and alright, you're kinda dorky." Peter laughed, refusing to let these totally random tears spill. "Not because you're not a spoiled brat that never worked for anything. I don't know the deal with this Skip person, one, what a terrible name. Two, you can always come to me." Peter gave a growing smile, not stopping it. "Thanks, d-Mr. Stark." Aaaaaaand that's where it went wrong._

It was a week before he saw Mr. Stark again. Yeah, he'd kept count. How could he not?  Maybe he was being paranoid, but he didn't really think so. Mr. Stark had almost immediately changed the subject and they basically acted like nothing happened.

Peter supposed that was a good thing. He almost called his mentor 'dad' and ever since Ben...he didn't think anyone could come close to deserving that title. So if he had to think of Mr. Stark as a pretty damn close-to-father figure in secret, he would. He didn't wanna damage what they had.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Did Peter...no, there's no way. No way anyone could ever ...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooooo I decided to continue it lol. I just had to many ideas & I didn't wanna NOT include some of them, so idk how many chapters this will be. But after this chapter I'm gonna work on some other things & finishing Open Lab. I'm awful, I know  
> I PROMISE I MEANT TO UPLOAD LAST NIGHT BUt I fell asleep at my computer://

Did Peter...no, no there's no way. No way that anyone could ever consider him to be...maybe the kid wasn't gonna say _that_. Maybe he was gonna call Tony a dick. Because how could this pure, precious child see him as something meant to be looked up to? How could Peter see him as a dad?

_"I'm telling you, kid. DUM-E won't obey you and if he does, he's not doing it right." Tony watched Peter out of the corner of his eye, noticing the kid give an eye roll. Little punk. Tony smirked, not looking up from where he was working on this repulsor that absolutely needed to be upgraded. "I saw that."  This kid was barely bark, not much bite. Too precious for the world, Rhodey had commented once. "Didja really, Mr. Stark? I was starting to think maybe your vision was going out." Didn't mean the kid couldn't be a little shit. He knows Peter is holding back a laugh, the dork. "So much sass. Between you and FRIDAY, anyways. I am a paragon of angelic behavior."_

_There was a comfortable silence that settled between them for awhile. Usually there was Black Sabbath blasting, but Tony had to refrain from playing his music so loud whenever Peter was over. Ever since the kid was practically sobbing on the floor from a really bad sensory day, Tony couldn't help but feel guilty. This kid's supposed to be his responsibility yet he made the boy cry, because his music highly offended the kid's enhanced senses. So that sucked. There were days where he had to have the music on, even soft and low so it wouldn't hurt Peter again. But he tried not to let it get too loud, for Peter's sake._

_The length of the silence grew, though. Which was odd because Peter usually chatters relentlessly, never able to handle the silence for so long. And Tony soon found that he couldn't handle the silence for long anymore either, not since Peter's been in his life, filling the silence and the void.  So he broke the silence because maybe he had to be theh one to do it. "Rough day at school? I only ask because you're being quiet. You're usually chatting it up, even with the bots. What's the deal?" He just needed to figure out what was wrong because something had to be. Why else would the usually talkative kid remain so quiet?  "You could say that."_

_Ah, he speaks. And so...softly. Weird. "Why's that, huh? Sonic giving you trouble?" It almost got a laugh out of the kid, but almosts weren't the goal. "It's Flash, and no more than usual." There shouldn't even be a 'usual'. Tony swiveled in his chair, turning to face Peter, who wasn't looking him in the eye. If he could just get this kid talking, they could jump into the awkward comforting part and then skip to getting back to work on these upgrades. "Alright. This is gonna sound a lot like an after school special or one of those Captain America PSAs you sent me," and boy were_ those _a hit. "but you know you can always talk to me or May or Happy, hell, even Rhodes. But since you and I both know you probably won't, you can always fight back. Or can you, I mean it's not like you're strong or anything. Oh wait."_

_Tony learned that messing with the kid would get him pretty far with getting Peter to say what he was thinking. Once, he tricked Peter into revealing how he managed to get his homecoming date by insinuating that Peter was too shy to ever reveal his feelings to a girl (or guy. He didn't know about Peter, yet, but he wasn't one to judge what team anyone swung for. Especially since, and alright he doesn't really do baseball terms or phraseology but, he's an interchangeable player)_

_"Mr. Stark, I can't just fight someone because they said that...I couldn't fight someone then, so I shouldn't now." The kid finally looked up and Tony made the mistake of looking into his bambi eyes. God, this kid really is too precious for this world. "Interesting. So, since I couldn't save the day before I became Iron Man then I guess I shouldn't now? Hell, since May couldn't effectively defend herself before that class Pepper dragged her off to, she shouldn't defend herself now?" "What, no! I just-" Tony didn't even hesitate to cut him off. No way was he letting this kid think it was okay to get pushed around. Physically or not. "Just what, don't want to be labeled as the surprisingly strong kid?"_

_"The unusually strong one! I don't want to add onto the list of reasons of..." Oh, come on, kid. Don't trail off now. Tony made a mental note to really try and remember any names popped up because if the Flash kid's did, Tony would be paying a person visit.  "List of apparent reasons of what, Underoos?" Tony leaned forward, getting hit with the memory of their first meeting. When Tony leaned forward then too, trying to get an answer out of the kid. He remembers because what the kid said, it was hard to forget. "Of reasons I'm a freak."  And there was no way he was about to let the kid believe that. Underoos has too pure of a heart. "Now tell me what supposedly makes up this list." This oughta be good. All he had to do was listen to whatever bullshit reason Peter thought of himself as a freak, pick it apart and show he's not. "W-we don't have a lot of money, but we do alright. I just-some of the kids at school are, like, rich and whenever enough of us that aren't rich are the reason the class can't go on a trip without not including at least six of us, that's one." Well. That's utter bullshit. Who picks on someone because of their financial status? Of course, Tony remembers he was because he apparently had too much. "I guess I'm kinda smart, smarter than some of the kids and they don't really like it. A-and the whole thing with Sk-Skip." Damn right, you're smart Spiderling. He could relate to that, college at Peter's age? But his own problems weren't important, find out about Skip. Is it a person, does the kid go around skipping, what? "What whole thing?"_

_"It's nothing. Really, and he moved a couple years ago." Well if it's nothing, why'd you answer so fast? "Listen, Spiderling. If there's more to that story, you and I both know there is, you can talk about it. As for the short list of false reasons, because there are none, all I've got to say is that you are not a freak. In any sense of the word, you are not a freak. Not because you're strong and brave. Not because you're smart and alright, you're kinda dorky." Peter laughed at that and Thank God for it. "Not because you're not a spoiled brat that never worked for anything. I don't know the deal with this Skip person, one, what a terrible name. Two, you can always come to me." Peter smiled then, and it made Tony want to smile but he was being serious and he needed to drive the point home. Stay strong, Stark. Don't let this kid's infectious smile get you. "Thanks, d-Mr. Stark." Well, shit._

Peter had left not too long after that, was it a slip up? Did Peter really think of him as...no. Peter either meant to say 'dick' or 'douche' or something. He thought about it a lot since he last saw Peter.

_"FRIDAY, let's go over the agenda for tomorrow." He only waited a beat, before FRIDAY's sass came through. "Are you actually going to fulfil it? Because I could list what you have to do on the 18th and you still wouldn't-" "Wait, the eighteenth? I thought tomorrow was the seventeenth. Shit. Shit shit. FRI, why didn't you remind me today was the anniversary the kid lost his uncle?" "You told me no interruptions, boss." Well, damn. Might as well try to call Peter. Except this kind of thing should be done in person. It's a Friday night, maybe May would let Peter get ice cream or frozen yogurt or whatever the hell the kid wanted. Yeah, he'd go pick him up himself. "Boss, you have a call from Ross waiting on the line." Dammit. "Keep him on hold for a bit, FRI." Damn, this was going to have to wait._

_Next thing he knew, he was on his way to some location that Ross suspected the Others to be at._

It'd been a week since he saw the kid and he was going to do his damned best to be a good D word to the kid he thought of like a son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next up: all about skip wescott :I


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Name: Steven “Skip” Westcott  
> Class: Human Pedophile   
> History: When he was around twelve or so (at least old enough to walk home from school by himself), Peter Parker met an older student named Skip Westcott in the public library; Skip seemed impressed by Peter's studiousness, nicknaming him "Einstein," and the two boys became friends, which pleased Peter's Aunt May, who'd been concerned that her nephew spent too much time alone. Peter and Skip were frequently alone at Skip's house while Skip's mother was at work, and one evening Skip showed Peter some pornography, then suggested that they "conduct a little experiment" and "touch each other like the people in that magazine." Peter was appalled but "too frightened to leave." Following this, Peter stopped spending time with Skip, and when his Aunt May and Uncle Ben questioned him about it, he told them what happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Umm...this is gonna be a bit more... warning for mentions 
> 
> I’m like rewriting this AGAIN in the car, so it’s shorter than the first two chapters.   
> I’ll probably have the next chapter up once I finish eating and decide what to do for it

“Alright kid, spill.” 

Tony was already in kind of a bad mood, having spent his entire week and weekend in search of Cap’s team of fugitives. Not to mention the meeting he had to attend when he got back. 

In all fairness, Pepper had gotten sick for probably the first time since she started working at SI. And it was only fair he take her place, being the name of the company and all. Sure, she’s the CEO but shouldn’t the employees meet the face of the company at least once? Twice or thrice, for some. 

And then, out of all things, Peter’s AI, Karen, he called her, sent an alert to FRIDAY that the kid’s heart rate was irregular. Apparently the kid’s got a lot of pent up energy and adrenaline. Because something had happened on patrol. 

“Well?” And he looked down expectantly. Said kid was sitting in a chair currently, having been looked over by medical staff. 

“It’s nothing. Just a mugging gone wrong.” The kid wouldn’t meet his eyeline, huffing out a sigh. “Obviously it’s  not nothing, or we wouldn’t be here, would we? And it was definitely more than ‘just a mugging gone wrong’.” 

“Mr. Stark, really. It’s fine, everything’s fine. Can I go home now?” 

The gall of this kid, honestly. If he thought Tony was just gonna let him go home and not question anything, he had another thing coming. _That’s kinda D word worthy._

”Absolutely, once you tell me everything that happened.” Tony crossed his arms, not moving from his spot across from Peter. 

“He was..he was gonna try to...” Tony leaned forward, waiting for Peter to reveal his side of it all. “Spit it out, Parker.” 

“He was going to rape her.” Peter practically crawled in on himself and Tony instantly felt like shit. _Way to go, Howard Jr._

“Shit. Kid, you should’ve just said so, come here. _”_ Peter looked like he was trying to process what Tony had said, so the billionaire got up, pulling the kid to his feet and bringing him into his chest. “You did the right thing, stopping him. But I’ve never seen or heard of you stopping criminals brutally.” _There’s got to be more to the story. Be the D word. Be the D word! You’re already hugging him, talk to him._

“There’s more to this story, isn’t there?” He felt the fifteen year old nod against his chest. “Y-you remember what I said last week? About...about someone named S-Skip?” 

Tony felt his stomach drop. _Please, no. Please, please God no._

“Um...when I was twelve, I made friends with him. He was fifteen then. We met in the library, he called me ‘Einstein’.”

Tony swallowed, not sure if he was ready for what was coming next. 

“May and Ben were just glad I was making friends. Anyways, um. He lent me his favorite book, It. He said it was really good. And for a little bit it was, but then it got creepy and...I could see why it was basically rated R. Some of the kids in the book...they did stuff. 

So I didn’t finish the book, but I gave it back to Skip and he said I was ready for more. So he showed me...he showed me a magazine and said he wanted to conduct an experiment. He kept touching...I was...I was scared and when I went home, May asked if Skip wanted to spend the night and I cried.

I couldn’t just let it happen to someone else, Mr. Stark, not when I could do something about it.”

Making a mental note to find this Skip and absolutely kick his ass, he hugged Peter tighter, feeling the kid cry on his shoulder and it _broke his heart._

”Kid. Shit. I’m so sorry that happened to you. And that you had to witness something like that almost happen.” 

They stayed like that for a few more minutes, before Peter’s knees began to give out, his adrenaline leaving him. “Alright, kiddie, let’s get you in a bed.” Tony placed one of Peter’s arms around his shoulder, wrapping one of his own arms around the kid’s waist, guiding him to the spiderling’s own custom room. 

Tony was grateful for Peter changing into sweats and a tee after being checked out. He couldn’t even think of getting the distraught, nearly asleep on his feet, kid out of his spider suit and into regular clothes. Not after what he was just told. 

Making it to Peter’s room, Tony helped him sit down on the bed. “Alright kiddo. We’re here, so let’s just...” He had to pry the kid’s arm off of his shoulder to get Peter to lay down. “There we go, you little spider monkey.” The billionaire lifted Peter’s legs onto the bed, getting him to lay down completely.

They’d talk more about later, for now Peter needed his rest and Tony needed to process everything. 

Tony brushed back some of Peter’s curls. Kid had the hair of one of those flying baby angels. Funny, because he basically is a flying baby angel. 

 

Once he was out of Peter’s room, he started searching for this Skip douche. He’d find him and he’d make sure the guy stayed far away from the Parker’s. 

He couldn't let anything remotely similar happen to his kid again, he wouldn’t. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up:...any suggestions?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony being the D word

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I planned on this being super fluffy, but we’ll see   
> There’s no WiFi at home, so I’m having to upload with my data:/  
> Should have WiFi in about 3 days

His name is Steven “Skip” Westcott. He’s eighteen, a senior at the Bronx School of Science. He doesn’t work, having enough money at home he doesn’t have to. That or his parents aren’t making him. His parents are also divorced and he has no siblings. 

There was a charge against him that was dropped, by another boy’s family. The boy was thirteen last year, he went through the same thing as Peter apparently. The charges were dropped though and never made court somehow. 

If Tony had to guess, it would be because “Skip” targets younger boys, possibly girls too, from a lower middle class family. And the reason none of these cases went through would probably be because Westcott comes from a higher salary background. 

That, of course, just angered Tony. It made him grit his teeth, tighten his grip on the coffee mug. He wondered briefly if the Parker’s went through this or if they didn’t press charges. 

Looking at the time, Tony saw it was already three-forty-two a.m.  Sure he had stayed up later before, and it wasn’t like he’d be getting much sleep tonight. So he retreated back to Peter’s room, freezing upon hearing the whimpering. 

It didn’t take long for him to find his place on Peter’s bed, where the teenager’s legs weren’t already occupying. Shuffling quickly, he placed a hand on Peter’s head, smoothing the curls out. “It’s alright Pete.” The whisper became a mantra, never ceasing until the teenager stopped whimpering. 

Tony could feel his blood boiling. He didn’t know if the kid was having a nightmare about this teenaged pedophile or one of the things Toomes did, the possibility of it being Ben Parker’s death was in there too. Of course, that did not help Tony’s anger at the shitty hand life had dealt him. Peter had called it the ‘Parker Luck’ on a few occassions and Tony didn’t really get it until now. 

“M’s’r Stark?” _Good Christ, let this child have a nightmare-less sleep. Or better yet, a slumber filled with dreams about Star Wars or something._

”What’re you doin’ in here?” Peter sat up, rubbing his eyes. Tony sighed, trying to push the kid back down by his shoulders, but being beaten by the kid’s strength. 

“Came to check on you, kiddo. You should probably go back to sleep, it’s like...four a.m. now.” Tony paused to check his watch. Technically it was three-fifty-one, but, _details_. 

“By that logic, shouldn’t _you_ be asleep?” 

“Fair. Except for the fact that I didn’t get stabbed last night.” Peter tried to roll his eyes, but it looked more like a flutter. Poor kid needed to go back to sleep already. “ _Lightly_ stabbed.” Tony huffed a laugh. “Lightly stabbed is still stabbed.” 

“Anyway, Mr. Stark, you didn’t have to come check on me, I’m fine.” It was Tony’s turn to roll his eyes. The amount of times the kid had said this to him was ridiculous. “Right, and you also aren’t even a little sore then?” To prove his point, Tony gave Peter’s right shoulder a squeeze, earning a hiss from the teen.

“Ouch, geez.” The billionaire only offered a pointed look, as if saying ‘see, I told you so’.  “Alright, I’m a little sore, but that’s only because it happened a couple hours ago.” 

“No no, you’re sore because you were _stabbed_ a couple of hours ago.” 

The banter between the two lasted a few more minutes before Tony settled into what Rhodey had called ‘mama bear mode’, after witnessing Tony go ballistic on a guy that took a shot at the teen. In his defense, Tony and Rhodey didn’t know that Peter hadn’t been shot and only went down because his senses warned him. 

“Alright. Congrats, you managed to stall for five minutes, now go to sleep.” 

Tony’s pretty sure the only reason that Peter actually went down when he pushed on his shoulders again was because the kid was so tired. 

“Get some sleep, underoos. You deserve it. I’ll be in the other room, so if you need anything just ask FRIDAY.” 

Peter blinked owlishly, squinting, trying to fight the sleep that was about to take him again. Tony decided to amplify the temptation of rest by running his fingers through the kid’s hair, knowing Peter couldn’t resist sleep from that, having seen May do it once. 

Speaking of May, she’d probably kill him for not telling her what had happened to her nephew immediately. But he figured Peter needed to rest more than he needed to hear an earful from his aunt, who was just getting off a shift. In Tony’s experience, May getting off from work is a much louder yeller. So he’d texted saying that they would work on upgrades in the morning so the kid was staying the night. Which was true, as of when he sent the message. 

“Thanks, Dad.” 

Tony froze, his hand resting in Peter’s hair. Said kid was taken by sleep and didn’t even notice his slip up. He might remember in the morning and be really awkward about it, but for now, it was just Tony. 

He’d heard it, and for now, it was _his_ heart melting. 

If _they_ were here, he’d have the temptation to rub it in, old tin man _does_ have a heart. The proof of it lies in Peter. 

_Thanks, Dad_. It wasn’t a mishearing or any sort. Peter definitely said that. 

He’d probably find out in the morning, but for now, he was glad that the feeling wasn’t one sided, for once. 

He remembered making the vow to himself to be a damn good D word. But now, he promised to be the _best_ damn D word the kid could have. He’d make sure of it. 

 

When morning came, Peter had a flush of the cheeks, not making eye contact. For a moment, Tony was worried that it was just a slip up and the kid didn’t mean it, only said it because he was really tired. 

But his hopes were confirmed when Peter brought it up himself. 

“Um. About last night. I-I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, and if you want I can keep my distance, I swear. But... you kind of... You’ve been...you’ve been like a dad to me, for the past couple of months, and. And I really needed that.” 

Tony could feel his heart swell with joy. Reaching forward, he brought Peter to his chest, similar to the hug they had last night. He felt Peter hesitantly bring his arms around him, probably shocked.  

“Listen, Peter, I absolutely do not want you to keep your distance. It’s not one sided, it’s not just you. You’ve been like a son to me and _I_ really needed _that_.” 

The hug lasted another ten seconds before Peter spoke up again. “Um, Mr. Stark, it’s not a hug, I’m just reaching for the torque.” 

_Little shit_. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This no WiFi thing really sucks!!! I’m having to upload on my phone with data bc the place I’m at has AO3 blocked bc it’s “adult” which, okay

**Author's Note:**

> should I continue this? I kinda have an idea for it but idk


End file.
